NWBI Company Profile

Northwest Bancshares, Inc., a Maryland corporation, was incorporated in September 2009 to be the successor corporation to Northwest Bancorp, Inc., the former stock holding company for Northwest Bank, upon completion of the mutual-to-stock conversion of Northwest Bancorp, MHC.

Northwest Bank is a Pennsylvania-chartered stock savings bank headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania, which is located in northwestern Pennsylvania. Northwest Bank is a community-oriented financial institution offering personal and business banking solutions, investment management and trust services and insurance products. Through a wholly-owned subsidiary, Northwest Consumer Discount Company, it also offers consumer finance loans. Northwest Bank’s mutual savings bank predecessor was founded in 1896.

Our principal lending activities are the origination of fixed-rate and, to a lesser extent, adjustable-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one-to-four-family residential real estate, shorter term consumer loans and the origination of loans collateralized by multi-family residential and commercial real estate and commercial business loans. Generally, we focus our lending activities in the geographic areas where we maintain offices.

In an effort to manage interest rate risk, we have sought to make our interest-earning assets more interest rate sensitive by originating adjustable-rate loans, such as adjustable-rate residential mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, and by originating short-term and medium-term fixed-rate consumer loans. In recent years we have emphasized the origination of commercial real estate loans and commercial business loans, which generally have adjustable rates of interest and shorter maturities than one-to-four-family residential real estate loans. We also purchase mortgage-backed securities and other types of investment securities that generally have short average lives and/or adjustable interest rates. Because we originate a substantial amount of long-term fixed-rate mortgage loans collateralized by one-to-four-family residential real estate, when possible, we originate and underwrite loans according to standards that allow us to sell them into the secondary mortgage market for purposes of managing interest-rate risk and liquidity. The sale of mortgage loans supports our strategy to grow the consumer and commercial loan portfolios by more than our portfolio of long-term fixed rate residential mortgage loans. We currently sell low-yielding fixed rate residential mortgage loans with maturities of more than 15 years, and on a more limited basis, those with maturities of 15 years or less, while retaining all adjustable rate residential mortgage loans. Although we sell a portion of the residential mortgage loans that we originate, we continue to be a portfolio lender, and at any one time hold few loans identified as held-for-sale. We currently retain servicing on the mortgage loans we sell which generates monthly service fee income. We generally retain in our portfolio all consumer loans that we originate while we periodically sell participations in the multi-family residential, commercial real estate or commercial business loans that we originate in an effort to reduce the concentration of certain individual credits and the risk associated with certain businesses, industries or geographies.

Upon receiving a retail loan application, we obtain a credit report and employment verification to verify specific information relating to the applicant’s employment, income, and credit standing. In the case of a real estate loan, either an in-house appraiser, or an approved external appraiser, appraises the real estate intended to secure the proposed loan. A loan processor checks the loan document file for accuracy and completeness, and verifies the information provided.

For our personal loans, including residential mortgage loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, automobile loans, credit cards and other unsecured loans, we have implemented a credit approval process based on a laddered individual loan authority system. Real estate secured loans are underwritten by our licensed mortgage loan originators. Non-real estate loans are underwritten by local loan officers who are granted various levels of authority based on their lending experience and expertise. These authority levels are reviewed by the Credit Committee on at least an annual basis. As part of the approval process, we assign independent credit officers to review the creditworthiness of all loans exceeding $500,000. If the credit officer has concerns regarding a loan that has been approved at a specific level, they have the authority to request that the loan be reviewed and approved at the next higher level.

Our commercial loan policy assigns lending limits for our various commercial loan officers and stacked authorities for commercial loan officers with the approval of senior management. These individual and stacked authorities are established by the Credit Committee. The Senior Loan Committee may approve extensions of credit in excess of the stacked loan authorities. The Credit Committee meets quarterly to review the assigned lending limits and to monitor our lending policies, loan activity, economic conditions and concentrations of credit.

Our general policy is to make no loans either individually or in the aggregate to one customer in excess of $20.0 million. Under certain circumstances; for instance well qualified customers or customers with multiple individually qualified projects, this limit may be exceeded subject to the approval of the Senior Loan Committee. The Chief Credit Officer reviews any loans exceeding $20.0 million or unusual loan requests with the Board of Directors. In addition, the Chief Credit Officer has the authority to require that the Board of Directors review any loan that has been approved by the Senior Loan Committee with which the Chief Credit Officer has specific concerns. Also, all loans originated during a calendar quarter of $5.0 million or more are reported to the Risk Management Committee of the Board of Directors at the end of each quarter. Fire and casualty insurance is required at the time the loan is made and throughout the term of the loan, and flood insurance is required as determined by regulation.